So, my old guildies are starting a guild for Star Wars: The Old Republic and I am loosely considering playing with them, though I haven't done too much research. For IRL reasons, I've actually been boycotting MMO's for the last 11 months - I got my Heroic Lich King kill in December and then deactivated my account (with my guild's blessings) until just recently. With that said, my question is: are any of the SW:TOR tank classes remotely similar to Tankadins? I love tanking, but more than that, I love tanking and despite all odds, Getting The Job Done(tm).

Among all the tank classes in Warcraft, Tankadins are hackers... or at least they were in WOTLK. Where Warriors would die, Paladins would live. And not only that, they could keep other people alive too. In WOTLK, I could bubble off stacks (solo-tank Northrend Beasts? solo-tank Toravon?). I could BOP a dying healer or BOP a warrior tank who, himself, got too many stacks. I could use Hand of Sacrifice to get myself out of an incapacitate. I could Raid-Wall. I could Freedom people in a pinch, etc.

I remember when ICC first came out and I was in a group doing Ick in T9 (imba 4pc), and my whole party died to his AOE's - Well, I proceeded to solo him from 50%. I switched to Seal of Light, Divine-Protection'd for 50% damage reduction, and when I "died", I would pop a Nightmare Seed and let Ardent Defender auto-kick in. Then I would pot, and I would Bubble+Bandage. Then, when Ick was standing in place channelling green bubbles on the ground, I was Holy Light'ing myself (because I could do that, I was a Paladin). Then, when all my resources were exhausted and all seemed lost... I Lay'd on Hands. And vent cheered. :]

This isn't supposed to be a toot-my-own-horn post - I gave that example to explain what I mean, here. Many times in WOTLK, I bought us a kill simply because I was a paladin and I had tricks up my sleeve and I knew how to time them. When Marrowgar killed my two offtanks, my guild had explicit faith in me, because they knew I would find a way. Paladins are hackers. I'm not just talking about self-heals here, either - I'm talking about all the stuff I mentioned in the second paragraph, too. It's about being a class with utilities designed for one situation, but using them in ways they weren't intended for... and pushing forward for the win.

So, back to the point - Has anybody played SW:TOR Beta enough to know if there is a tank class that's hybrid enough to be anywhere near as fun to play as a WOTLK Tankadin? I've read a little bit about their differences, but that's not the same as actually playing it in Beta, which I haven't done, and seeing what they can do.

Has anybody played SW:TOR Beta enough to know if there is a tank class that's hybrid enough to be anywhere near as fun to play as a WOTLK Tankadin?

I have.

The thing is, based on the rest of your post, you aren't talking about a class being fun to play. You're talking about being overpowered. So while I could easily recommend Jedi Guardian as being fun and familiar, that's not really what I think you're getting at.

For the most part, the classes in TOR have a lot of homogeneity. The class balance is pretty good. Your basic differences are: am I ranged or melee, and what's my cc/AoE situation look like. The fact of the matter is that you're not going to find a bunch of amazing tricks to pull victory from the jaws of defeat in any one class. They all have more or less the same shit.

I suppose my post does describe a lot of over-powered-ness, at least in that example with Ick, but more importantly, I'm referring to tricks and tools to fix situations gone wrong - while you are tanking. I mean, admittedly, if someone can solo a boss from 50% to dead in a game that just came out, yeah, that game probably won't survive. ;-/

When you said "What's my CC/AoE situation look like" are you implying there is a tank class who also has CC's, for instance?

Jedi Guardian is certainly the closest you'll find to a paladin, in many ways. Sith Warrior if you came into paladin tanking as a Blood Knight.If you're looking for the "broken and downtrodden for years as a tanking class" trip, might I suggest the Jedi Shadow / Sith Assassin?

I have been in the TOR beta for a few months now, and haven't played much. All I can say is that Jedi Guardians are a lot of fun, but Jedi/Sith ethos is a dealbreaker for me, and the game at launch will disappoint anyone expecting it to be up to Blizzard or even BioWare standards of polish.

thorn wrote:I suppose my post does describe a lot of over-powered-ness, at least in that example with Ick, but more importantly, I'm referring to tricks and tools to fix situations gone wrong - while you are tanking. I mean, admittedly, if someone can solo a boss from 50% to dead in a game that just came out, yeah, that game probably won't survive. ;-/

When you said "What's my CC/AoE situation look like" are you implying there is a tank class who also has CC's, for instance?

There is a tank class that has CCs, yes. I'm not sure it's relevant to the conversation of "tools" though. From what I've seen, all the tanks have pretty much the same tools. Having a CC isn't going to make/break.

Basically the "rogue" other spec is a tank and he's got a sap. I played one quite a bit a few months ago, as that's probably what I'll be on live (I'll level as a tank, but end game I will be DPS), so I don't have much knowledge of the other tanks, but I suspect they have similar capabilities.

I didn't have much trouble being accepted as a tank even without wearing the strongest armor (we have a buff to compensate in our tanking form/stance), but numbers weren't exactly tuned yet either.

I feel like the Shadow/Assassin is the class that most reflects the playstyle of the WoW Paladin. They seem to be a cross between us and bears, as they wear light armor and get a bonus similar to feral, but also have a system that reminds me of seals and judging, with the tank "seal" being the buff that gives us our threat bonus and extra armor. They also seem to have more AoE abilities and a talented AoE taunt. The Guardian/Dreadnaught taunt I saw was single target.

I played just the last weekend as I was out at Army training during the previous Beta weekend I was invited to. Got a Guardian to 24 and a Shadow to 14, both tank builds. Ran the first instance on both sides, and the Hammer on the Guardian. In general I liked the Knight story arc more, but I think I prefered the Assassin more. They don't have the tricks of a Paladin, but they seem to do better damage, and while lacking a leap/charge that hasn't ever stopped me in WoW. I rather like stealthing in to pull, the extra stunning and mob control, and besides Assassins get Speed around 16 which works as a charge as well.

I agree that the Jedi Shadow/Sith Assassin is the closest to a tankadin. It's basically a tankadin merged with a DK.

(1) Basic attacks split into a single target and AOE (Double Strike and Whirling Blow), similar to Crusader Strike and Hammer of the Righteous.(2) A 3-point generator system using Project, similar to building Holy Power up to 3.(3) A damage/heal that can be used once you have the 3-stack (similar to Word of Glory and Shield of the Righteous together).(4) Ticking self-heal similar to Seal of Insight from the Combat Technique.(5) Force Speed talented removes movement impairing effects, so it's a bit like Body and Soul and Hand of Freedom combined together.(6) Kinetic Ward is basically like an older incarnation of Holy Shield, i.e., charge based block improvement.(7) Regens Force (mana) by avoiding or blocking attacks (similar to incarnations of paladin, e.g., Sanctuary).

In some other respects the class is like a DK, since it has Force Pull (Death Grip) and Resilience (Anti-Magic Shell).

Kihra wrote:I agree that the Jedi Shadow/Sith Assassin is the closest to a tankadin. It's basically a tankadin merged with a DK.

(1) Basic attacks split into a single target and AOE (Double Strike and Whirling Blow), similar to Crusader Strike and Hammer of the Righteous.(2) A 3-point generator system using Project, similar to building Holy Power up to 3.(3) A damage/heal that can be used once you have the 3-stack (similar to Word of Glory and Shield of the Righteous together).(4) Ticking self-heal similar to Seal of Insight from the Combat Technique.(5) Force Speed talented removes movement impairing effects, so it's a bit like Body and Soul and Hand of Freedom combined together.(6) Kinetic Ward is basically like an older incarnation of Holy Shield, i.e., charge based block improvement.(7) Regens Force (mana) by avoiding or blocking attacks (similar to incarnations of paladin, e.g., Sanctuary).

In some other respects the class is like a DK, since it has Force Pull (Death Grip) and Resilience (Anti-Magic Shell).

pretty sure that class is awesome. also has a way to slip out of combat, and has a 50%-DR hand of sacrifice.